Meet Karen Owoc

Just yesterday, we posted a link to a piece from Congressional Quarterly Research (click here for a blog post by CQ summarizing their larger report on Title IX) that was written by Karen Owoc, a member of the College Sports Council’s Advisory Board. After some nastiness on Twitter (something for which an apology has been given), it became clear to me that not everyone might be familiar with what Karen has done.

Here’s what she sent me in a note yesterday:

I created a men’s gymnastics event to use as a platform to draw attention to the need to support men’s collegiate athletics. The event grew to be one of the largest (1,200 athletes), most prestigious men’s gymnastics competitions in the USA drawing gymnasts from all over the country and the world. It was also the only men’s open competitions to ever be televised. The NCAA/collegiate session aired on Comcast Sports Net/Fox Sports Net for five years. I was the Executive Producer of that show. I produced the event from 2004-2010.

My goal was to reach as many states in the U.S. with our message and also educate our audience about Title IX. I co-founded the Fairness in Sports Foundation to support those objectives. Olympic Gold Medalists, Peter Vidmar (gymnastics), Tim Daggett (gymnastics), Brian Goodell (swimming) and Karch Kiraly (volleyball) joined me in my efforts as Board Members of the organization. As part of the Foundation, I’ve written about Title IX and also formed a grassroots campaign called MOMSS – Moms On a Mission to Save Sports.